Gainesville Art festival pictures

It was a beautiful and busy time last weekend at the Downtown Festival and Art show!  I enjoyed talking with so many people and getting the opportunity to help people with their holiday gift giving needs.  Here are a few random pictures from the event:

I painted bulletin boards to be used as display pieces for the jewelry.  I used those this time because I could load them with jewelry the days before the show then just hang them in my tent once I got there.

This time, I included a table out front for people to easily sign up for my mailing list.   I also had a basket of jewelry for people to peruse.

Once again, I went without glass over the jewelry.  It felt like I was 'nekkid' as I had used it for so long, but I think customers really enjoyed being able to see the jewelry without waiting for assistance.

This show also marked the debut of the recycled bottle caps with resin.  These cute little caps are the perfect refrigerator accessory.

I had more colors of the resin and silver pewter jewelry to show off.  I've been going a bit crazy with the colors lately.

While the earrings looked great on the colored flower trees, I displayed the pendants on the table. The displays looked a bit too crowded hanging on the displays.

I'm working on a video of the event too, to give you the 'full effect' of the weekend.  Thanks to everyone who stopped and shopped! 

P.S.  I'll be a Linda Blondheim's loft studio at Paddiwhack this Friday evening, 5:30 PM to 9 PM and Saturday noon to 4 PM.  Come and enjoy art, jewelry and Christmas cake!!

Random jewelry making pictures

It's a little hodge podge of everything going on in the studio right now. I snapped some random pictures yesterday.

These bottle caps have had their magnets glued and are drying.  The magnets do look tiny, but these rare earth magnets can hold three pounds of weight.

(Future) resin scrabble tile pendants are drying.  I've applied the images and the glue sealant.  These are for a wholesale order.

Same wholesale customer, but these are finished pendants. 

These resin and pewter earrings and pendants are halfway through sanding.  They have three more grits of sandpaper to go.

These are some of the new pendants and earrings made from recycled gift cards.  I need to make earwires and jump rings for them.

I'm anxious to see how these do next weekend at the Downtown Festival and Art show.  That will be their first time available to the public.  (Hope to see you there!)

Your invitation to a jewelry open house in Gainesville, Florida

Join me at the loft studio of Florida landscape acrylic painter Linda Blondheim for a HEN PARTY.  Her studio is upstairs at Paddiwhack, 4128 NW 16^th Blvd., Gainesville - next to Fresh Market.  (Just walk to the back of the store and look for the neon sign.)  The event is on Saturday, August 6, and runs from noon to 4 PM.  I will be there beginning at  1 PM and will have my scrabble tile jewelry, along with my new resin and pewter jewelry.  I'll be there to answer questions, demonstrate  some jewelry techniques, and maybe pick up paint brush -- only to look at.  I will have small resin jewelry gifts for attendees (until they run out), so get there early!  Other artisans will be there sharing their handmade soaps, washcloths and handbags. 

Did I mention there would be music by guitarist Bob Brounley from 1 to 3 PM along with light snacks? 

RSVP's appreciated, but not required.  (By the way, the guys can come too.)

New jewelry making class - corrugated mixed metal earrings

For those who have been patiently waiting for my next class, it's on the schedule!  Learn how to make these earrings at Gifts of Avalon, Monday, March 7, 6 to 8 PM.  Yes, you will be able to get these done in 2 hours.  For you curve buster types, maybe even two pairs.



The example here is done with sterling silver and brass, but copper can be used as well.












If you're a tool junkie, you'll love this class.













Best part - no experience is necessary and you don't need a concealed weapons license.  (Yeah, long story.)  Contact Gifts of Avalon directly to register.

Uptown art hop, a festive shopping experience

Just in case I missed seeing you this past Friday night, I thought I would share some pictures from the Uptown Art Hop.  The art hop is a collection of art related businesses in the 2400 block of northwest 43rd street in Gainesville, Florida, that open their doors once every three months or so for a night or arts and entertainment.  I demonstrated some of my resin jewelry making techniques at Gifts of Avalon (also the same place where I teach classes). 

I took an assortment of the sterling silver and resin jewelry pieces to show.

I also had an assortment of the scrabble tile resin pendants.

This was the first time I also had the acrylic earrings with handmade papers on display.  The price point made them appealing for gifts.

One of the shop owners, Rhonda Bergman, was at the store that night.  The other store owner, Trude Spillane, was in travels to a bead show.

There was a modest assortment of refreshments.

I took some of my molds and resin jewelry pieces in progress to talk about.  I didn't pour resin, but did talk to some people about the specifics of working with it.

Did I mention there was a reggae band?  They played live music just outside the front door during the event.  It made the evening quite festive.


I actually have to share with you that I kicked myself hard when I got to Gifts of Avalon that night because I meant to take my video camera to get a soundtrack for the evening.  Drat!

Resin jewelry making pictures

My sterling silver and resin jewelry has been a bit neglected for the past couple of months. The scrabble tile pendants have taken off with orders, and I have been mostly focusing on them as of late. That is changing a bit as we move closer to the holiday shopping season. These are just some random pictures from this weekend of resin and silver pendants in progress.

The resin gets poured in stages.  I only pour one color at a time.













The silver portion of the pendants get "staged" first.  Then I pour the colors.











Can you tell that red and green were my last two pours?  The resin needs at least 24 hours to cure before I pour the next color.

I "overfill" the resin in the silver well.  This will get sanded down later.

When I'm done pouring the resin, I let the jewelry set in a glass pyrex dish covered with plastic wrap.  I will check on it from time to time and make sure nothing is going wrong.  For example, a couple of hours after I poured the green resin, one of the pendants was leaking from underneath.  I was able to get it out and clean up the resin before it made a huge mess on a several pendants.

I hope to have many of these pieces ready for the Downtown Festival and Art Show in November.

Jewelry making class - forged copper metal earrings

 My next class at Gifts of Avalon, Gainesville, Florida, is Monday, November 15 at 6 PM.  This is another brand new class, and I will be teaching students how to make copper earrings using metal forging techniques.








No experience is required, but of course is always helpful.  Students will learn to make earrings, like the ones shown here, in about two hours.  Anyone interested should contact Gifts of Avalon to register.